# ytplayer — Feature Ideas & Enhancement Roadmap

> **Status:** Research & Proposed Roadmap  
> **Target:** Web PWA, Tauri (Windows), zero-native (macOS / Linux)  
> **Date:** October 2026  

---

## 1. Context & Architecture Baseline

`ytplayer` is an ad-free, privacy-preserving media engine with a dual identity:
1. **Ad-Free Media Player & Offline PWA**: Built with vanilla JS on the frontend and Bun + Hono on the backend (libsql SQLite database). It uses `yt-dlp` and InnerTube for direct stream extraction without Google accounts, and caches media locally (OPFS in browser, single-file H.264/HEVC faststart on server, WebRTC P2P mesh between devices).
2. **Live Worship & Stage Performance Tool**: Equipped with **Service Mode** (wake-locked setlist view, auto-scaling lyric fonts, per-song arrangement notes), synchronized LRC lyrics with section/cue tags, and a **Presenter screen** (`/?present=<code>`) with QR pairing.

This document synthesizes high-value feature opportunities gathered from research into modern YouTube frontends (FreeTube, ReVanced, SmartTube, Namida), modern music players (Plexamp, Spotube), and live stage tools (Planning Center Music Stand, OnSong, MultiTracks Playback).

---

## 2. Feature Proposals by Domain

### Domain 1: Smart YouTube & Playback Experience

#### 1.1 SponsorBlock & Non-Music Segment Skipping
* **The Concept**: Automatically skip or visually mark sponsored segments, self-promos, interaction reminders, and non-music sections.
* **Why it matters**: Music videos frequently feature skits, prolonged silent pauses, or spoken intros. Skipping `music_offtopic` ensures the music starts immediately.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Free, unauthenticated REST API: `GET https://sponsor.ajay.app/api/skipSegments?videoID=<id>&categories=["sponsor","intro","outro","music_offtopic","selfpromo"]`.
  * Highlight segments as color-coded spans over the seek bar (`#timeline` / Glass Stage scrubber).
  * During the playback tick in `frontend/app.js`, if `currentTime` enters a skippable segment and auto-skip is enabled in Settings, seek to the segment end and show an "Unskip" toast.
  * Server media cache can optionally apply `--sponsorblock-mark` during ffmpeg intake.

#### 1.2 Automatic YouTube Chapter Extraction & Interactive Scrubber
* **The Concept**: Automatically parse video chapters from YouTube metadata and display chapter splits on the progress bar.
* **Why it matters**: Currently, chapters are only created manually. Full albums, sermons, conference talks, and live sets already have timestamps in video descriptions.
* **Technical Path**:
  * In `server/server.js` (`/api/streams`), expose `chapters: [{ start_time, end_time, title }]` directly from InnerTube or `yt-dlp`.
  * Render tick marks / gaps on the progress scrubber for each chapter boundary.
  * Display the current chapter title next to the timestamp.
  * Add keyboard shortcuts: `[` (previous chapter) and `]` (next chapter).

#### 1.3 Return YouTube Dislike (RYD) & Quality Rating
* **The Concept**: Show community like/dislike ratios and ratings for videos.
* **Why it matters**: Helps identify misleading arrangements, clickbait, poor audio rips, or broken videos before playback.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Query `https://returnyoutubedislikeapi.com/votes?videoId=<id>` (public, CORS-enabled).
  * Display a discreet like ratio bar or percentage badge on the video card and now-playing details.

#### 1.4 On-Screen Subtitles & Closed Captions (CC) Overlay
* **The Concept**: Render synchronized captions directly over the video playback stage.
* **Why it matters**: `ytplayer` currently only uses captions for transcript search or importing into lyrics. Spoken sermons, tutorials, foreign tracks, and non-musical videos need readable on-screen subtitles.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Add a `CC` button on the player controls.
  * Fetch timed lines from `/api/notes/:id/captions`.
  * Render an HTML overlay synchronized to `Player.master.currentTime` with settings for font size, background opacity, and positioning.

#### 1.5 Silence Skipping (Talk & Sermon Mode)
* **The Concept**: Automatically speed up or skip past silent gaps in spoken-word media.
* **Why it matters**: Long sermons, podcasts, and talks often have pauses; skipping silence saves 10–20% of listening time without altering speech tone.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Connect an `AnalyserNode` or `AudioWorklet` in the Web Audio graph.
  * If audio energy (RMS) stays below -45 dB for >800 ms, ramp `playbackRate` to 2.5× until speech resumes.

---

### Domain 2: Audiophile & Music Player Polish

#### 2.1 EBU R128 / LUFS Loudness Normalization
* **The Concept**: Eliminate jarring volume jumps between tracks in playlists and queues.
* **Why it matters**: YouTube master volumes vary widely (-24 LUFS to -8 LUFS). Normalization ensures consistent listening levels.
* **Technical Path**:
  * When generating waveform peaks in `server/media-cache.js`, run ffmpeg's `ebur128` filter once to measure integrated loudness (LUFS).
  * Store `lufs` in the database and pass it via `/api/streams` and `/api/media/:id`.
  * In `frontend/app.js`, apply a Web Audio `GainNode` to normalize tracks to a standard -14 LUFS target.

#### 2.2 Real-Time Pitch Shifting & Independent Tempo Adjustment
* **The Concept**: Transpose playback key (±6 semitones) without altering tempo, or slow down tempo without changing pitch.
* **Why it matters**: Singers and worship teams often need to adapt songs to a band's vocal key. Instrumentalists need to slow down fast sections to learn them.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Use an AudioWorklet running a Phase Vocoder or `SoundTouchJS` DSP processor.
  * Provide stepper controls for semitone transposition and tempo percentage (0.5×–1.5×).

#### 2.3 Ambient Glow / Reactive Lighting Mode
* **The Concept**: A soft dynamic glow behind the video player that mirrors current video colors (similar to YouTube Ambient Mode or Apple Music dynamic art).
* **Technical Path**:
  * Render video frames onto an offscreen 16×16 `<canvas>` at ~10 FPS.
  * Display a blurred canvas (`filter: blur(50px)`) directly behind the player container with smooth CSS opacity.
  * Auto-disable when `settings.perfMode` is active or under `prefers-reduced-motion`.

#### 2.4 Smart Autoplay Radio / Endless Mix
* **The Concept**: Keep playing related songs when the active playlist or queue concludes.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Fetch candidate related tracks via InnerTube `next` continuity tokens.
  * Re-rank candidates using the client's local `StatsTrack` (`playCount`, listening duration, and skips) to favor familiar favorites while avoiding immediate repeats.

---

### Domain 3: Live Worship, Band & Stage Performance Engine

#### 3.1 Interactive ChordPro Sheets & Live Transposition
* **The Concept**: Display chords inline or above lyrics with 1-tap live transposition and capo calculation.
* **Why it matters**: Replaces the need for external music stand apps (Planning Center Music Stand, OnSong) on stage.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Extend `frontend/lyrics-core.js` to parse ChordPro directives (`[G]`, `[D/F#]`, `{key: G}`).
  * Add a Transpose controller (+1 / -1 semitone, Capo selector) that dynamically recalculates chord symbols in real time.
  * Add a view toggle: "Lyrics Only" vs. "Chords & Lyrics".

#### 3.2 Bluetooth Foot Pedal / Page-Turner Support
* **The Concept**: Hands-free navigation for musicians on stage using standard Bluetooth foot pedals (AirTurn, PageFlip, Donner, Stomp).
* **Why it matters**: Musicians cannot remove their hands from instruments while playing.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Standard foot pedals map to keyboard keys: `PageDown`, `PageUp`, `ArrowUp`, `ArrowDown`.
  * Extend the global `keydown` listener in `frontend/app.js` to handle pedal events in Service Mode:
    * `PageDown` / `PageUp`: Scroll down / up by one lyric section.
    * Configurable actions: Next/Previous track, trigger A-B loop, or jump to Chorus.

#### 3.3 Confidence Monitor & Stage Clock (Presenter Mode)
* **The Concept**: A high-visibility stage display mode for the Presenter screen (`/?present=<code>`).
* **Why it matters**: Singers and worship leaders need glanceable cues for upcoming lyrics, section names, and remaining time.
* **Technical Path**:
  * In `Presenter` (`frontend/app.js`), provide a **Confidence Monitor** layout:
    * **Current Line**: Extra-large, high-contrast text.
    * **Next Line Preview**: Smaller, dimmed text directly underneath.
    * **Section Badge**: Prominent label (e.g. `# CHORUS 2`).
    * **Stage Clock & Timer**: Current wall clock plus elapsed/remaining song timer.

#### 3.4 Section Quick-Jump Pad
* **The Concept**: A grid of buttons representing song sections (`[Intro]`, `[Verse 1]`, `[Chorus]`, `[Bridge]`, `[Outro]`).
* **Why it matters**: Worship teams often repeat choruses or spontaneously transition between sections during live services.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Parse `# Section` headers from synced lyrics in `frontend/lyrics-core.js`.
  * Render an arrangement button strip in Service Mode.
  * Tapping a section immediately seeks playback to that section's start timestamp.

#### 3.5 Visual Metronome & Count-In Click
* **The Concept**: Visual flash or gentle audio click count-in before track playback begins.
* **Why it matters**: Enables the band to start playing on beat before the recorded track introduces audio.
* **Technical Path**:
  * When `@ 70 BPM` metadata is present in song notes, offer an optional 4-beat visual flash on the stage frame or Web Audio click before playback starts.

---

### Domain 4: Library, Offline & Sync Innovations

#### 4.1 Visual Download Manager & Storage Dashboard
* **The Concept**: A unified management dashboard in Settings for offline media.
* **Why it matters**: Gives clear visibility into queued, active, and completed downloads with storage usage breakdowns.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Show active download tasks with real-time progress bars.
  * List storage usage grouped by playlist, audio vs. video format, and OPFS vs. server cache.
  * Add controls: "Pause All", "Resume All", and "Retry Failed".

#### 4.2 Smart Auto-Offline Favorites
* **The Concept**: Keep a user's most essential songs available offline automatically.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Setting: *"Keep Top 25 Most-Played Songs Offline"* or *"Keep Active Setlist Offline"*.
  * Automated background routine checks local `playCount` and triggers cache downloads for missing items during idle time.

#### 4.3 Self-Contained Offline Playlist Bundling (Zip Export)
* **The Concept**: Export a full offline bundle containing playlist JSON plus the saved audio/video files for complete air-gapped device migration.

---

### Domain 5: Collaboration & Watch Parties

#### 5.1 Collaborative Setlists & Playlists
* **The Concept**: Multiple devices editing a single playlist simultaneously with live sync.
* **Why it matters**: Band leaders and team members can collaborate on Sunday setlists from different locations.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Extend playlist sync in `server/db.js` with shared write keys.
  * Broadcast item reordering and song additions over the existing WebSocket hub in `server/party.js`.

#### 5.2 Watch Party DJ Mode & Upvote Queue
* **The Concept**: Allow guests in a watch party (`/ws/party`) to submit song requests that the group can upvote.
* **Technical Path**:
  * Add a "Suggested Queue" tab in the watch party drawer.
  * Upvotes dynamically sort songs; when current playback finishes, the highest-voted song plays next.

---

## 3. Implementation Matrix & Recommended Phases

| Phase | Feature | Effort | Prerequisites & Reused Modules |
|:---|:---|:---:|:---|
| **Phase 1: Quick Wins** | **SponsorBlock & Non-Music Skip** | Low | Free SponsorBlock API, playback tick in `frontend/app.js` |
| | **Automatic YouTube Chapter Ticks** | Low | InnerTube metadata in `server/server.js`, timeline scrubber |
| | **Bluetooth Foot Pedal Shortcuts** | Low | Keydown event listener in `frontend/app.js` |
| | **Section Quick-Jump Pad** | Low | Lyric section parser in `frontend/lyrics-core.js` |
| **Phase 2: Stage & Audio** | **EBU R128 LUFS Normalization** | Medium | ffmpeg `ebur128` in `server/media-cache.js`, Web Audio GainNode |
| | **ChordPro Display & Transpose** | Medium | `frontend/lyrics-core.js`, chord parser |
| | **Confidence Monitor Stage View** | Medium | `Presenter` & `fitLyricLines` in `frontend/app.js` |
| | **On-Screen Subtitles (CC)** | Medium | `/api/notes/:id/captions`, overlay renderer |
| **Phase 3: Deep Capabilities** | **Pitch Shift & Tempo Worklet** | High | AudioWorklet / `SoundTouchJS` DSP |
| | **Ambient Glow Lighting** | Low-Med | Offscreen `<canvas>` + CSS blur |
| | **Smart Autoplay Radio Mix** | Medium | InnerTube `next` API, `frontend/stats-core.js` |
| | **Collaborative Setlists** | High | WebSocket hub in `server/party.js` |